


Quiet Riot

by FrozenSnares



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Affection, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Crass language, F/M, Food, M/M, Nosy - Freeform, Rickeen Shipweek, Swearing, invasive family, outsider pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-18 05:49:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8151247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenSnares/pseuds/FrozenSnares
Summary: The Starks have always been a loud and boisterous family, and they always expected Rickon to embody this more than anyone else. But when Christmas rolls around and he shows up with a date, they’re all reminded just how precious tenderness is. Written for Day 3 of Rickeen Shipweek—Prompt: Affection





	

**Author's Note:**

> [Picset](http://frozensnares.tumblr.com/post/151024954331/quiet-riot-the-starks-have-always-been-a-loud-and)

Sliding around to another chair, Sansa set down the last of the large dinner plates in her hands before carefully adjusting the silverware until it was perfectly straight. The Stark house was done up in all its seasonal finery for Christmas Eve dinner. Arya had even insisted that they dig out the Christmas tree and decorate it as soon as she arrived three days ago. The house was fuller than it was when they were children with all the significant others that came along, even though one of the kids was still missing.

“All done, Mom!” Sansa called, walking back into the kitchen. She immediately made for the desserts that were piled on the counter, and she picked up a lemon bar to bite.

Catelyn walked past her, counting out the place settings. “You’re missing one,” she said, strolling back into the kitchen and pulling on oven mitts.

Sansa furrowed her brow, moving around her mother to find the things for another place setting. “Is Jon coming?” she asked. “I thought he said he was spending time with his new girlfriend…”

“Rickon’s bringing someone,” Catelyn said, pulling out a large dish of scalloped potatoes from the oven. “He called specifically to ask.”

“Rickon has a girlfriend?” Sansa asked loudly.

Arya rounded the corner, coming to a stop on the counter. “Or does he have a boyfriend?” she asked, selecting a cookie. “I would not put it past him to go the same path as Bran.”

Gendry smacked her arm, pulling the cookie from her grasp. “Be nicer to your brothers,” he said sharply before turning to Catelyn. “That smells amazing, Catelyn.”

“Thank you, Gendry,” she replied, placing it with the array of food. “And I did not ask for details. The last time someone tried, he didn’t come back for a month. I’d really like my son to visit more often.”

Arya made a face, leaning over to look at Sansa, who looked equally worried. “Are we sure that’s a good idea, though?”

“Yeah, Mom,” Sansa said slowly. “I mean… don’t you remember the kind of girls Rickon dated in high school?”

Catelyn sighed loudly, placing her hands on her hips before glaring at her daughters. “As easily as I remember who you two dated in high school,” she snapped back. “So I’ll hear none of it this evening.”

Sansa’s jaw dropped, and she made for the sitting room. She slumped into the sofa, looking up in thought. “Who exactly did I date that was so bad?”

“Joffrey,” Robb said immediately. “Harry. _Theon_.”

Before she retorted back at him, Arya jumped on the back of Robb’s chair. “And me?” she asked with her mouth full of cookie.

Robb sighed. “Mycah. Hot Pie,” he said. “Ned Dayne.”

“Ned wasn’t that bad.” Sansa shrugged, looking away.

“You dated Ned?” Gendry asked, looking amused more than anything.

Arya scoffed. “Fucker wouldn’t take no for an answer,” she said. “It wasn’t really a date.”

Robb and Sansa shared a laugh that Arya ignored. She walked over to the Christmas tree and fiddled with the ornaments. As Gendry walked past to a couch, he fussed with her hair. 

Robb shook off his laughter, leaning back in his seat. “Oh, at least I don’t have this problem.”

Arya and Sansa started howling with laughter, and a loud snort came from the hallway. Craning his neck, Robb looked over his shoulder to see Bran rolling himself into the room with Jojen right behind him. “Don’t go lying to us, big brother,” Bran said, “or have you really blocked all your past deviancies from your mind?”

“I do not _have_ deviancies, Bran,” Robb said haughtily. “Unlike our sisters.”

Bran and Jojen shared a look. Then, they took turns.

“Jeyne.”

“Dacey.”

“Margaery.”

“Myrcella.”

“The _other_ Jeyne.”

“Arianne.”

“And who was that foreign exchange student?”

“Excuse me!” Robb practically shouted. “My _wife_ is here. You know, the woman I _married_?”

Jojen shook his head. “We were all at the wedding,” he said calmly. “But marriage doesn’t erase your past.”

“Yeah, why _are_ we talking about Robb’s terrible dating choices?” Bran asked, settling next to Sansa.

“Rickon is _bringing someone_ ,” Sansa said, hoping her voice provided sufficient air quotes. “Mom didn’t ask for details.”

“Ah,” Bran sighed.

Arya jumped up, pointing over to Bran. “See? Exactly.”

“I don’t think Wylla actually owned any clothes that covered her ass,” Bran said, looking scandalized at the memory. “And that one chick who convinced him to dye his hair? Just… I’d rather not relive watching my little brother get fondled on the couch again.”

“And he’s in _college_ now,” Arya added. “His girlfriends didn’t bother dressing well in high school, can you imagine how much worse the _college_ girls will be?”

“It’s practically legal to go about in nothing there,” Gendry pointed out.

“He was fifteen,” Robb defended, “and probably just stoked out of his mind that something with boobs talked to him.”

Bran gagged, and Jojen placed a comforting hand on his shoulders. “I hope you understand that we don’t see the appeal,” Jojen told Robb. “Boobs just don’t really do it for gay men.”

Robb scoffed loudly. “Oh, come on!” he said. “Bran dated your sister. It’s logical.”

“There is a _very_ good reason why I’m not dating her anymore,” Bran shot back.

“Does it have to do with boobs?” Arya deadpanned, falling onto Gendry’s lap.

Sansa shook her head. “No, I think it definitely has to do with a penis,” she said. “And I completely understand.”

“You. Are. My. _Sister_ ,” Robb punctuated out. “You’re not allowed to say ‘penis’.”

Sansa looked over to Arya, and they nodded together.

“Penis.”

“Dick.”

“Cock.”

“Boner.”

“Junk.”

“Prick.”

“Shaft.”

“Wang.”

“Unit.”

“Sausage.”

“Package.”

“Noodle.”

“Love Stick.”

“Lollipop.”

“Dong.”

“Bulge.”

“Anaconda.”

“Banana.”

“FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THE GODS, PLEASE STOP!” Robb shouted.

It effectively shut up his sisters, but they both looked far too satisfied with their work. Simultaneously, Arya and Sansa reached across the table and gave each other a high five.

“My whole life,” Robb said. “I could have gone _my whole life_ without hearing that.”

“Without hearing what?” Roslin asked, walking in the room. She sat on the arm of Robb’s chair, and he leaned onto her lap before hugging her about the waist. “Have you been torturing my husband?”

“Don’t worry,” Arya said. “It’ll get ten times worse if Rickon decides to show up before dinner is served.”

Bran pulled out his phone to check the time. He frowned, angling his phone up so Jojen could see. “Seriously?” he asked no one. “What gives?”

“Isn’t he usually this late?” Jojen asked.

“Not when he’s bringing someone,” Sansa pointed out.

“So he’s learning,” Sandor said, walking into the room with Ned. “I couldn’t get any of you to stop talking to me the first time I came here. Kid probably learned it was better to come late and leave early.”

“You want to leave, honey?” Sansa asked, moving onto her knees to look up at Sandor.

The doorbell rang, and the entire room collectively gasped. Arya smacked Gendry’s chest before sitting up eagerly. Bran rolled around to get a better view of the front door, and Sansa forcibly moved Sandor away from her line of sight. No one could actually _see_ the door from where they were, and no one made any attempt to go open it.

Catelyn eventually marched through the room, shaking her head and muttering to herself. She braced herself for the worst before opening the door. Standing in the doorway was Rickon, and for the first time in years, his hair was the color it naturally grew out as. He was dressed well, but not exceedingly so, and Catelyn grinned at him. It took her a moment to notice the girl he brought with him. She was shorter than him, and likely slouching as she hid behind his shoulder as much as possible. A quick glance down proved that they were holding hands: his pinky finger hooked around her first finger. She almost blended into the night with how dark her hair was, and she looked like she was trying to become Rickon’s shadow.

“Hey, Mom,” Rickon greeted, stepping forward to give her a hug, “this is Shireen, my girlfriend.”

Shireen lifted a hand in a small wave. “Hello, Mrs. Stark,” she said softly, stepping out from behind Rickon just slightly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Call me Catelyn, dear,” she replied, gesturing for them to come inside. “And get out of the snow, the two of you. It’s freezing.”

Rickon led the way inside, stopping out of sight from the living room to remove his heavy coat and help Shireen out of hers. “Are they all waiting to pounce?” he asked, taking off his scarf. He reached out for Shireen’s, but she ducked away from his hand before grabbing onto it again. “I can practically hear them eavesdropping.”

“Oh, they’ve been particularly meddlesome today,” Catelyn said. “But if you want to get away, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Rickon called, watching his mother head off. He reached around Shireen to pull the bag from her grasp. “You want me to show you all the hiding places?”

Shireen blushed furiously. “Shut up,” she said. “They’re already going to hate me.”

“Not possible,” Rickon said, moving to give her a hug. He brushed the hair from her face, and Shireen quickly shook her head to let it fall back into place. “They might be assholes, but they’re not that bad.”

“You spent the entire ride complaining about them,” Shireen reminded him.

“You’ve always doubted my judgement before,” Rickon said, grinning at her. He quickly leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Come on. Let me show you my room.”

Grasping firmly onto Rickon’s hand, Shireen followed him down the hall and up the stairs. Try as she might to keep looking forward, she snuck a glance into the living room that was packed with the remainder of the Starks. They were all staring at her, craning their necks to try to get a better view. Shireen ducked her head down, almost crashing into Rickon’s back in her attempt to get away faster.

“Whoa, there,” Rickon warned, stopping outside his door. “What’s the rush?”

“They _saw_ me,” Shireen replied, pushing her face into his back. “This was a terrible idea.”

“They’re going to see you,” Rickon told her. He opened the door and stepped in slowly, letting Shireen continue hiding her face in his back. Tossing the bag on his bed, Rickon turned around to pull Shireen into a hug. “It’s a family dinner, honey. _For Christmas_. Eye contact is kind of a given.”

Shireen groaned into his chest, grasping at his sides to pull him closer. She mumbled out something incoherent into his sternum, and Rickon gently patted her back.

“Do you want to hide in the kitchen with my mom until dinner?”

\--

In living room, the entire room was sharing silent looks. Arya was trying to get Sansa’s attention, and Jojen just looked confused. Bran chuckled, earning a sharp glare from Robb. Then, Gendry broke the silence.

“So he’s got a girlfriend. Whatever.”

Arya swiped at his head. “That was _not_ normal.”

Sandor furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. “What do you mean?”

Sansa scoffed. “She’s cute,” she said. “Did you see her holding onto his hand? And how she immediately tried to use him to hide behind?”

“He’s not a shield, Sansa,” Robb shot back.

Roslin smacked her husband. “It’s _cute_.”

The sound of footsteps on the stairs quieted the room immediately. They never drifted any closer, and they eventually drifted off to the kitchen.

“Shit,” Arya hissed out, standing up to follow.

“Sit,” Ned said firmly. He gave the room a menacing look. “No one leaves this room.”

“Dad!” Sansa and Robb shouted together.

“ _No one_ ,” Ned repeated. He backed out of the room slowly before leaving to the kitchen.

Sansa groaned loudly. “How are we supposed to learn anything about her?” she asked the room. “No one even knows who she is.”

Bran chuckled, shrinking down in his wheelchair. “I do.”

\--

Rickon bit his tongue, trying to aim a cookie into Shireen’s mouth. She scowled at him, not letting her mouth open in the slightest. Wiggling the cookie, Rickon tried to force it in. At the stove, Catelyn was stirring a pot of gravy, thoroughly ignoring them.

“Oh, come on,” Rickon said. “It’s my favorite cookie. You have to try it.”

Behind him, Ned cleared his throat loudly. “You’re going to spoil your appetite like that.”

Rickon dropped the cookie, and Shireen choked down a small strangled giggle. “See?” she mumbled.

Stooping down, Rickon retrieved the cookie, taking a bite anyway. “Cookies are fine anytime, Dad,” he said. “Also, meet Shireen.”

“Eddard Stark,” Ned said, “but please call me Ned.”

Shireen held out a hand, trying to lift her chin in confidence. “Shireen Baratheon,” she said, turning to face Rickon’s father dead on.

“Stannis’s girl?” Ned asked quickly.

Flinching back, Shireen raised a hand to her face, trying to cover up the scars with something more solid than makeup.

“Not because of that,” Ned corrected just as fast. He cleared his throat loudly. “Your uncle and I go way back. Robert.”

“Come stir the gravy, dear,” Catelyn commanded sharply.

Taking the cue, Ned backed away to go help in the kitchen. “Ignore him,” she told Shireen. “No one here is going to care about your face.”

“I am!” Rickon defended immediately. He reached out to brush his thumb over her scars, a soft smile growing on his lips. “I like her face.”

Catelyn smiled warmly, watching Shireen shyly duck away from Rickon’s undivided attention. Rickon eased Shireen’s scarf from her neck, pulling her closer in the process. Shireen blinked at him. She stepped into him and placed her head on his chest. At the same time, Rickon lifted a hand and started smoothing down her hair. Grinning just from watching them, Catelyn ventured back to the kitchen, trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing.

She leaned onto Ned’s back, enjoying a rare moment of calm during a family gathering. Then, she took the stirring spoon from Ned. “Do you kids want to move the food to the table?”

“Sure, Mom,” Rickon said. He pressed his nose into Shireen’s hair before leading her through the process of putting all of the food on the table. They moved about each other doing so, even though Rickon moved things she put down more than a few times.

“Stop that,” Shireen hissed at him, smacking his hand away from the scalloped potatoes that she just put down.

Rickon sighed, looking down at her. “But I thought you wanted to sit over there.”

“That doesn’t mean all the food has to be over there,” Shireen replied.

“Just the food we want to eat,” Rickon said slowly. “You can put the salad over here.”

Shireen shook her head at Rickon. Then, she stretched up onto her toes to kiss his cheek before moving the scalloped potatoes and salad to their new locations. Rickon firmly kept his eyes on the table, refusing to turn around and see his parents looking smug. He had to eventually, following Shireen back to the kitchen, but he was surprised to find both of his parents looking content.

Catelyn tapped Ned’s chest. “Go call the other kids,” she said. She carefully removed her apron, heading over to the table, and then she looked over to where Rickon and Shireen were idling near the desserts. His head was bowed toward hers, and their fingers were hooked together again. “Come have a seat, you two. It’s about to get crowded in here.”

With all of Rickon’s family in attendance, Shireen felt like shrinking away the moment she stepped into the house. For his sake, she tried to keep her posture straight and her head up; hoping that she could regain the confidence Rickon helped her obtain in the first place. Before anyone even made it into the room, Rickon started serving them, filling both of their plates with all his favorite food. Shireen smacked him away a few times, but never succeeded in stopping him.

“You filthy cheater!” Robb yelled, helping Roslin into a seat. He slid into a chair quickly, snatching the basket of bread away before Rickon could take any. “Just helping out for first dibs…”

“Best idea I’ve had today,” Rickon replied, easing back in his seat. Shireen poked his bicep, nodding over to the tray of macaroni, and Rickon retrieved it. “How goes the married life?”

“ _Don’t_ ,” Roslin warned sharply, throwing her own roll of bread at Robb’s head. “Don’t you dare.”

Roslin quickly cut off Robb’s protests, and the rest of Rickon’s siblings and their significant others filed in. Some of them went around the table to take food before sitting down, the chatter filling the room. Bran shot Rickon a dirty look, before sliding into the space directly across from him.

“I can’t believe you,” Bran said, angrily shaking out his napkin. “Of course you leave _me_ as the only one who knows what you’ve been up to.”

Rickon laughed, sliding a glass of water in front of Shireen. “You told them?” he asked. “I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”

“That’s Jojen,” Bran said quickly, waving his fork around.

“Hi, Shireen,” Jojen greeted. “How’s your dissertation going?”

“Pretty good,” Shireen said, keeping her voice low. “Meaning that I’m only ten pages in, but my appendix looks nice.”

“Ten pages?” Jojen asked. “Overachiever.”

Shireen smiled, busying herself with her meal again.

Sansa sighed, leaning onto her elbow and looking over at her youngest brother. “We should have sat closer to them,” she told Sandor. “I want to talk to her.”

“Just talk to her,” Sandor said. “The distance never stops anyone else.”

“I don’t want to scare her!” Sansa defended. “She seems really nice. Can’t you see how she keeps glancing over at Rickon? And every time she tries to grab something he does it for her? They’re so cute…”

“So Rickon,” Arya said loudly, easily cutting across the conversation and quieting most of the table. “When did you stop dying your hair? Once you decided to quit with the goth look?”

Rickon shrugged, stabbing at his plate. “Took too much time,” he said dismissively. “This was easier.”

“Tired of seeing your favorite color everywhere?” Robb asked, obviously teasing. He cleared his throat loudly and looked over to Shireen. “Or trying to enjoy another source of it more?”

“Black isn’t my favorite color,” Rickon replied, looking mostly confused. He picked at his macaroni, shoving it into his mouth. “Don’t know where you got that idea.”

Shireen giggled, but the comment sent his family into an uproar.

“Everything you’ve owned since you were thirteen has been black,” Arya said, sitting forward. “When you started dyeing your hair, we just assumed you really like the color.”

“Wait,” Gendry interjected, waving a hand. “If your favorite color isn’t black, then what is it? Red?”

“Green,” Shireen replied, just loud enough to hear.

Rickon turned to face her. “Did I tell you that?”

“Nope,” she said. Quickly, she looked at him with her tongue out before turning back to her food. Rickon grinned at her, nudging her with his shoulder.

Catelyn groaned. “If you didn’t like black why were all of your clothes that color?”

Rickon swiveled around to face Shireen. He put his chin in his hand. “Do you know the answer to that one, too?”

Shireen reached up to tap his nose. “You thought that everything would match if it was one color,” she said. “Right?”

Narrowing his eyes at her, Rickon leaned in closer. “And how long have we been dating?”

“Three months,” she said quickly.

“Yeah, that was a good decision,” Rickon replied. He took her free hand, stroking her knuckles before moving their joined hands out of sight from his family. “See? She knows.”

With the barrier on Shireen’s talking broken, it was easier for his family to resume talking. She only joined in sometimes, preferring to sit back in the shadows and just watch. The Starks were obviously holding back, not bombarding Shireen as they had with the other significant others that came into the family.

“You have until tomorrow,” Roslin said, whispering in Rickon’s ear. “Then, I’m sure they’ll pounce.”

“I won’t be here tomorrow,” Rickon said. “Well, for a bit… We’re driving south to see Shireen’s family.”

“You’re leaving us?” Arya almost shouted. She was half way to standing over the table when Gendry grabbed her and forced her back into her seat.

Rickon looked a little offended. “I’m prepared to leave a lot sooner if you’re going to be mean about it,” he shot back.

“Arya,” Catelyn warned.

She sat back, slumping down a bit.

“How far south?” Gendry asked politely.

“Storm’s End,” Shireen said quickly. She looked down at her food, but a glance up at Rickon’s smile helped her relax again. Poking at her food, she returned the smile before continuing on with her dinner as the conversation fluctuated without constraint.

\--

Sansa paced the hallway, watching Roslin helping her mom prepare tea. She groaned loudly, looking to see all the men in her family still talking around the table. All except Rickon. He and Shireen had gone to retrieve presents, but they didn’t return after putting them down under the tree. They were sitting side by side on the couch. His arm wasn’t even over her shoulders.

“Anything?” Arya asked, jumping down from the stairs before sitting on them.

Groaning loudly, Sansa went over to join her sister. “He hasn’t even kissed her,” Sansa complained. “Seriously. Even you went sneaking off when you brought Gendry the first time.”

“So he’s not trying to get in her pants. Big whoop,” Arya said. “She’d probably run away if he did.”

“Don’t make fun of her because she’s shy!” Sansa said. “You’ve never had to visit Gendry’s family.”

“And you’ve never gone to Sandor’s,” Arya shot back. “It can’t be that bad.”

Sansa stood up, dragging Arya over to the doorframe just out of view of Rickon. “Just look,” she hissed out. “He keeps touching her hair. He’s definitely holding her hand. Sometimes, he’ll just lean in and press his nose to her hair.”

Arya shook her head. “She’s not even on his lap,” she said. “It’s just a ton of little things.”

“Isn’t it cute?” Sansa asked.

“He hasn’t kissed her?” Arya asked back, looking out again.

Sansa took a small step back. “They’ve been dating for three months,” she justified. “He’s definitely kissed her.”

“Do you think she let him?” Arya asked. She gestured to her own face. “You know, with the…”

Smacking at her sister’s arm, Sansa tried to look out again.

“Are you spying on them?” Jojen asked from the other room.

Both sisters jumped at the same time, flinching from the noise and almost crashing into each other. They sputtered out affirmations in the negative as Catelyn walked past. Roslin followed, carrying a tray full of tea.

“Want to go fetch the desserts?” Roslin said, her voice laced with knowing tones.

Taking the cue, Sansa and Arya scurried off quickly.

\--

“Thanks, Mom,” Rickon said, grabbing a hot teacup from her. He sipped at the liquid, almost burning himself. Then, he laughed and turned to Shireen. “Oh, this is going to put you to sleep.”

Shireen scowled, sipping delicately at her own cup of tea. She adjusted her seating, tucking her feet underneath her. “Thank you, Catelyn,” she said. “Everything has been amazing.”

“And just ignore my children that aren’t,” Catelyn suggested. She winked at Shireen. “They’ll stop soon.”

Everyone else piled into the room, finding seats where they could, oftentimes on the laps of others. Teacups and desserts were passed around, and small chatter quickly filled the room. It was easier for everyone to talk now. Even though Rickon caught several members of his family shooting looks at Shireen, no one asked her anything that made her try to hide away, and she even started up some conversations herself. Rickon finally got her to have a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. She bit off a small chunk as Rickon held it up for her, and then he shoved the remainder of it in his mouth.

“Hey!” Shireen protested. She grabbed weakly at his empty hand. “I wanted more.”

“Who takes bites out of cookies?” Rickon asked, reaching out to grab another cookie. He held it out and Shireen snatched it from his hand. 

Though conversation seemed to be at about the same level as usual, Rickon could easily hear the abrupt halts and breaks from his family. He had already deduced that they happened whenever he interacted with Shireen, but he didn’t fully understand _why_. They weren’t even doing anything. Shireen was just finishing up her tea, occasionally asking to try other desserts. Rickon fetched them for her, taking his time to select the best of each kind for her before watching her reaction closely as she ate them.

Glaring about the room, Rickon caught his sisters sharing a look before Arya smiled smugly and Sansa let out a large sigh. Had Shireen not just taken a hold of his arm, he might have snapped at them, but it wasn’t worth giving her a scare. Instead he waited patiently until Shireen left the room for some reason or other, and he made sure to strike before his family did.

“What’s your deal?” he snapped immediately, sitting forward in his couch.

“ _Our_ deal?” Robb asked. “You’re the one that has explaining to do.”

“There’s no explaining,” Rickon shot back. “Now, you better cut the crap or—”

“It’s because you’re so cute together,” Sansa jumped in. She shoved Robb toward Roslin to get back into the conversation. “Seriously… it’s just… all the little things.”

Arya snorted. “It’s like you actually like her or something.”

Rickon blinked. He looked around the room and caught the same approximate expression on everyone’s face. He still didn’t get what the big deal was. “Why wouldn’t I like her?”

“How’d you meet?” Sansa asked eagerly, even though Sandor sharply pulled her back.

“The library?” Rickon started, trying to figure out when his family got so weird.

Shuffling steps in the hall made his family jump back. Immediately, Bran and Jojen started up a loud conversation about breakfast foods that everyone hopped onto with too much enthusiasm. Rickon rolled his eyes, turning as Shireen ambled back into the room. She sat on the couch next to him again, tucking herself into his side and yawning.

Rickon chuckled. “I warned you about the tea.”

Shireen nodded absently, reaching over for his other hand. “How bad were they?”

He almost burst out laughing right then. His family was acting oddly enough that even Shireen knew they would be invasive the moment they could. He shook his head, putting an arm around her and pulling her closer. “For some reason, they don’t think I actually like you,” he told her. “It’s like they haven’t seen you.”

“Oh, they’ve seen me,” Shireen said, looking up at him. “I watched each and every one of them reset their tongues before saying anything to me. It’s because you haven’t tried to kiss me.”

“I don’t want my family to watch us while we kiss,” Rickon whispered in her ear. “Have you seen how I kiss you?”

Shireen giggled, digging her head into his chest. “No,” she murmured. “I’m usually _preoccupied_.”

Rickon rubbed a thumb over her knuckles, stopping himself from pulling her onto his lap. “Well, it’s quite a sight,” he whispered, trying to hide his grin by pressing his face in her hair. “So I won’t be kissing you at your dad’s house either.”

Shireen pouted at him, somehow managing to get even closer to him. “Not even once?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him. “Please?”

“You’re going to get me killed,” Rickon hissed out. He quickly leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, hoping that his family was too preoccupied to notice. Unfortunately, there was a definite pause in the noise of the room, and Rickon was just thankful that there were no cameras out.

Shireen gave him a smile, her eyes closing of their own accord. She yawned again.

“Sleepy?” Rickon asked.

She nodded slowly.

“Want my bed?” Rickon offered. He tried to ignore the burning stares of his family. “Or my lap?”

Clumsily, Shireen climbed over his legs. She tucked the skirt of her dress down, placing an ear over his heart. “I feel like it’s too early for a bed,” she mumbled out, “but I never stay up this late.”

Rickon wrapped his arms around her, keeping her securely in place. “I know,” he told her. He leaned down to press his nose into her hair again. “Sleep well.”

“Will you wake me for presents?” Shireen murmured out.

“We’ll wait until morning,” he told her. “We usually do.”

Shireen nodded, closing her eyes and falling asleep very quickly.

Because he was so curled into her, the remainder of the Stark family didn’t notice Shireen had completely fallen asleep. They continued on with their conversations, sneaking looks at Rickon who was idly tracing patterns over her dress with his fingers. After a long while, Bran rolled over, leaning on the arm of the sofa and getting Rickon’s attention. Bran let out a huff of air before he smiled.

“Wow, she really knocked out, didn’t she?” he asked. “I thought you were joking when you said she had a bedtime.”

Rickon shook his head, giving Bran an incredulous look. “It’s like you think I lie to you or something,” he said. “But I should probably take her upstairs.”

Bran stifled a snort. “If you leave quickly, Sansa won’t be able to take any pictures.”

“Nope, she’s had her phone poised since Shireen got on your lap,” Jojen said, leaning on the back of Bran’s wheelchair. “You’re in a corner.”

“Literally,” Bran added on, gesturing to the edge of the couch.

“Ha ha,” Rickon deadpanned. He adjusted his hands underneath Shireen, trying to ease her into the best position for carrying. Glancing over to Bran, he frowned. “Move over. You’re blocking my path.”

“Go the other way,” Bran said smugly.

Rickon’s face dropped. “I will kick you out of the way.”

Bran scoffed as Jojen pulled him from the way. “Rude,” Bran told Rickon.

Ignoring his brother, Rickon got to his feet with some difficulty, keeping Shireen safe in his arms. She didn’t stir once, only moved to dig in closer to him. Rickon smiled down at her, looking up quickly to make sure he didn’t accidently hit her feet on anything. The stairs took a while, and Rickon carefully got them to his bed and helped Shireen in. He kissed her gently on her forehead, and Shireen woke just slightly.

“Is it time for presents?” she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes.

Rickon smiled at her. “Not until morning,” he reminded her. He kissed her forehead again. “I’ll be up in a minute. Go ahead and get comfy.”

Shireen nodded, digging her head into his pillow. Then, she opened one eye at him. “Can I have a kiss first?”

With a huge smile, Rickon bent down as Shireen rolled onto her back and stretched her neck up for a kiss. Rickon eased her back before kissing her fully, pushing her mouth open with his tongue and letting out a small sound. Shireen kissed him back almost too eagerly for someone who just woke up, and Rickon laughed against her mouth.

“Maybe I should just get in bed,” he mumbled out between kisses.

Batting him away, Shireen curled back down into the blankets. “You’re not getting that lucky,” she mumbled. “Go say goodnight to your family.”

Rickon laughed softly, combing her hair into place and smiling down at her as Shireen drifted off.

\--

“They’re so cute,” Sansa said for the umpteenth time. She smiled down at her phone, swiping through her pictures. “Can we keep her?”

“Uh, definitely not your decision, Sansa,” Gendry said. He shook his head slightly, as Arya leaned over his knee.

“Any good ones?” she asked.

“Can we frame them?” Sansa asked, sitting up straighter before leaning back against Sandor’s chest. “Is that too much?”

Sandor sighed. “Way too much,” he said. “Better let them both open up a bit more first.”

Roslin reached out for Sansa’s phone, looking at the ridiculous amount of pictures Sansa managed to take in the short time it took Rickon to leave the room.

“You might be taking this a bit too far,” Robb mumbled, looking over Roslin’s shoulder. He made a face right when Roslin squealed.

“This one!” she said, nearly throwing the phone back at Sansa. “Look at them!”

“Look at who?” Rickon asked loudly, stepping into the room with his hands in his pockets.

“Nothing!” Sansa and Roslin said together, both trying to shove the phone out of sight. Arya slowly moved over to snag the device and Rickon was tempted to tell them off again.

“Did Shireen fall asleep early?” Catelyn asked, gathering up some of the plates on the table.

Rickon gave him mom a smile, running a hand absently through his hair. “Yeah, she’s not used to staying up late,” he said. “And I’m going to hit the hay, too.”

Catelyn nodded, standing to pull him into a hug. “We’ll do presents in the morning,” she told him. “Does she like anything in the morning?”

“Surprisingly, tea,” Rickon said, shrugging slightly. “We’ll also be up early.”

“Not leaving?” Ned asked.

“We can probably hang around for a bit,” Rickon replied, giving his father a handshake. “Just getting to Storm’s End for dinner tomorrow.”

Ned nodded, helping Catelyn carry some dishes out. Rickon tried not to let the nature of his family bother him, knowing that he was lucky enough to have them. He almost idled about for conversation until Arya started going on about something on Sansa’s phone. Kicking his feet, he climbed the stairs.

Sansa sighed after him. “Oh, isn’t it great to just watch young love?”

“Mooning after our brother is weird, Sans,” Robb said, taking a long swallow of tea.

Roslin hit him with a pillow. “It’s not _mooning_ ,” she said sharply. “We just miss it.”

“Miss what?” Sandor asked, looking a little worried.

“ _Affection_ ,” Jojen provided. “You know… all the little things that seem to disappear when you’ve been with someone for too long.”

Bran tossed a pillow at Jojen. “You better not be complaining.”

“No complaining,” Jojen confirmed quickly.

Arya snorted loudly. “What’s so great about all that anyway?” she asked. “Who needs it?”

“You, probably,” Gendry said, earning a hearty laugh from everyone else.


End file.
